January 21, 2014: Buffalo Law Student Receives The New York Bar Foundation's Honorable Joel K. Asarch Elder Law Scholarship

Sara Furguson, a third-year law student at the University at Buffalo Law School, has been awarded the inaugural Honorable Joel K. Asarch Elder Law Scholarship, The New York Bar Foundation has announced.

Furguson will receive a $2,500 award. The scholarship was named in honor of Nassau County Supreme Court Justice Asarch, who died in March 2013. It was created to foster relationships among lawyers practicing elder law and law students planning to practice elder law, and to encourage the practice of elder law among lawyers throughout New York

“The Foundation is pleased to recognize Sara Furguson with the Honorable Joel K. Asarch Elder Law Scholarship. She has overcome so many obstacles in her life and persevered to follow her dream of being an advocate for the elderly and disabled,” said Bar Foundation President Cristine Cioffi (Cioffi•Slezak•Wildgrube). “It is a privilege to honor a truly remarkable young woman.”

A Fairport resident, Furguson became a quadriplegic at the age of three following a head-on automobile collision involving a drunk driver. She graduated from Cornell University in 2010, where she was president of the Disabilities Service Team. She expects to graduate from law school in May 2014.

Furguson served as a law clerk at the National Labor Relations Board and at the New York State Appellate Division, Fourth Department. She has been a curriculum designer and research assistant for the Cornell University Employment and Disability Institute since 2009.

“I am deeply honored to be a recipient of the Honorable Joel K. Asarch Elder Law Scholarship. Justice Asarch was a remarkable practitioner and educator, always giving back to his community,” said Furguson. “I will carry on Justice Asarch’s dedication, providing legal support to our aging generations.”